B&Q to close 60 stores

UNCERTAINTY surrounds the future of B&Q employees after the company announced it planned to close 60 stores.

So far, six stores have been confirmed for closure. None of them are in the local area.

However, this leaves 54 unaccounted for and the Bognor Regis branch waiting to hear more on its future.

Kingfisher, the owner of DIY chains B&Q and Screwfix, said the closures would happen over the next two years.

Véronique Laury, Kingfisher’s chief executive, said the company needed to organise itself differently to unlock its potential.

“We have a lot to do and we are announcing today a set of first sharp decisions which are already underway including the closure of around 15-per-cent surplus B&Q space,” she said, adding this amounted to around 60 stores.

The company did say the impact on jobs from the B&Q store closure plan was expected to be balanced due to plans to open new Screwfix stores, which would create 900 new jobs.

There are also plans to redeploy staff to other parts of the business.